Let’s start 2018 out with some anger, shall we? The fastest way we know how to make that happen is to showcase an LS swap. Nevermind the capability and proven performance of GM’s heir to the small-block’s throne, the second the phrase “LS swap” appears the anger appears. It’s unoriginal, it’s too common, it’s the inferior to (INSERT OTHER ENGINE HERE). Automatically and almost without thought, the base argument is that the builder is an idiot and that a car was ruined with the tradeoff for a stout late-model engine that can put down some good power.
And if you want to hear some serious hate, ask a fan of the rotary what they think of the heresy that is an LS-swapped Mazda RX-7. Exchanging magical Dorito power for a V8 is like giving the Mona Lisa a tramp stamp to that crowd…you just don’t do it. Except, a lot of people do it, and a lot of people are happy with their conversions. Some are butchered together just to make a dead car run again, and then you have well thought-out builds. This particular FD RX-7 falls into the latter category. When you go so detailed that you have new gauges made that look like the stock units but function ten times better, that’s commitment.
We’ll see you in the comments section.
There’s nothing good about any car that is polluted be an LS. By the way I wonder what Chevy lovers thought of that awesome Chevelle that had a Mazda rotary fitted to it you featured some time ago – the knife cuts both ways…
OK, I’ll take the bait… Why is there nothing good about it, Geordie? From what I see, an LS engine swap provides:
– More powerful (otherwise they wouldn’t be swapping it)
– Usually lighter than the previous engine
– easy to get parts
– more reliable
– better drivability
– probably gets better gas mileage, too
I have done 3 LS swaps in 3 different cars, and all of the above is true on all of them. It has nothing to do with the branding or being a “chevy guy” or a “me too” guy. It’s just a compact, powerful engine thats easy to get, affordable, easy to work on, and has a lot of aftermarket support for it. Until someone else ups the ante with a better engine package that exceeds everything the LS family of engines provides, you’ll continue to be reading about LS engine swaps.
The article would have been a lot more informative if some time was spent on the drive train and transmission. I can tell you from experience running a 425 turbo rotary in one of these cars the transmission. axles etc are not up to the task if you really hammer it. With an LS ad it’s additional torque the problem is only worse.
I believe in the video it talks about how the rear end is an 8.8 ford unit out of a cobra mustang, and I’d assume the trans is a T56 or TR6060 Tremec 6 speed since that seems to be the most common swap with any LS.
Chevy Hatin’ Mad Geordie
January 3, 2018 at 2:43 am
Gets up early to not let us down. Your diligence does not go unnoticed